On the night of October 14th, 1781, Alexander Hamilton and Baron Viominel commanded two swift, silent attacks on Redoubts 9 and 10 in under 15 minutes. These two small, yet important barriers in the British outworks at Yorktown Battlefield prevented the Continental Army from completing the second parallel. Without the second parallel, French and American muskets could not reach Yorktown or its barrier, the British Defense Line. This made the redoubts two barriers that needed to be broken in order for Americans to achieve victory at Yorktown and eventually gain independence.

Map of the Siege of Yorktown.

(Credit: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association)